LeMans

Gentlemen, start your engines! How apt that I pull out the LeMans C64 cartridge on this day, the start of the 2013 Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix season. I am aware LeMans and F1 are two separate sanctioned sports, but hey, it is a racing game, and that is all there is to it. Perhaps I should have ripped out Checkered Flag on the Atari Lynx. I just have to stop second guessing myself and stick with this old game.

LeMans on the C64 is a top-down up-the-screen driving game, where you as the driver, must hit the pedal to the metal and drive to a never ending finish line. The goal of the game is to pass as many cars as you can. The more cars you overtake, the more points you earn. It’s not about the finish line in this game, it is all about accumulating the highest points score.The faster you go, the more points you earn – 2 points per metre to be exact. Every 10 cars passed you earn 1000 bonus points. Keep an eye on the countdown timer, as you will only get time extensions every 20,000 points. This is old school tough.

The strategy to doing well in LeMans is to drive as fast as you can for as long as you can, passing computer drivers (watch out as they veer in your path!) and traversing all kinds of terrain. The terrain sections in LeMans is what makes the game quite interesting – there are icy roads (your car slides as if it’s on skates), divided highways (squeezing into 2 lanes), night driving (relax, you have headlights) and the famous “LeMans Esses”.

Every time your car is hit by another vehicle or if you steer into the walls, your car turns into a wreck and you must “Pit” to the left as the on-screen message tells you to. This kills off precious seconds, so try and avoid hitting or being hit by cars and stop steering into walls. If you can avoid damage to your vehicle, then you will be well on your way to that precious high points score.

The only (fun) way to play this game is with the ‘Commodore Paddles’. The Paddles add to the playability of the game as you hold the accelerator button with your left thumb and steer with your right fingertips. There were no “steering wheel” contraptions for the C64 back in the day. The Paddles did (and still do) the job just right.

Well, enough of my ranting, I am off to play another game before the F1 race kicks off.

ausretrogamer

Alex Boz (aka: ausretrogamer) is a freelance writer, blogger and social media guru based out of Melbourne, Australia. Since starting up AUSRETROGAMER, Alex has spread the nostalgic vibe of retro gaming culture across the known universe. Whatever your topic is on retro gaming – history, consoles, games, peripherals, events, people, magazines, Alex has it covered. Get in touch with Alex to discuss projects and collaborations. Just don’t get him started on Galaga or Double Dragon!

Sure, it may sound like a gimmick or a way to get sponsor, Lenovo some press. However, these are real people who had to come together, train and compete and though their competition greeted them warmly and respected them, they didn’t go easy on them.

The first things you will notice about the Blue Mo-Fi Headphones is how LOUD they can be. The headphones have internal batteries that require no maintenance. The only thing they require is charge should you desire to use the amplied modes. The headphones have three settings: OFF, ON, ON+. OFF is what a normal person will use or what you will want to use most of the time if you’re not doing anything intense. This mode is still pretty loud compared to other headphones and it’s fine for everyday use.